First of all, I wanna thank all my reviewers and also to those who read my fic but didn't review. Well, here's another chapter for those who want it! Thanks for all your reviews! It makes me wanna write more. I'm so glad you guys like my story. I hope you'll like this chapter as much as the previous ones.

Summary: Rukawa was forced to bring the twins to IH with him since Sendoh is on a business trip.

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Inoue Kazuhiko… oops, I mean Inoue Takehiko. Sorry, I just love his voice so much. Oh, and Kenji and Eiji belong to me.

-Start-

Chapter 3: First IH Trip

"Wow! Father, come see this!" the five-year-old Eiji exclaimed. He was looking at the green sceneries outside the window.

Rukawa walked over to Eiji and pretend to share his excitement.

"This is so cool! I can see Mt. Fuji from here!" Eiji told his father animatedly. "Kenji, look!" he turned to his twin sitting beside him.

Kenji only yawned and continued reading his book, totally ignoring his brother.

"Kenji!" Eiji whined.

"Shut up! Can't you see I'm reading," Kenji retaliated, pointing at his novel titled 'Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet'. Sendoh gave him the novel on his birthday. Rukawa wondered why Kenji loves to read while the other hates book from the bottom of his heart.

Then, the two began to argue. Rukawa sighed. This is the first time the twins ever sat on a bullet train. Eiji was so excited! Kenji doesn't share his enthusiasticness though. Now, they're on their way to Hiroshima for the IH competition.

"Coach, must you bring them along?" a second year asked while trying to cover his ears. The twins tend to speak… argue very loudly.

"I have no choice, Ryu. I can't leave them alone at home," Rukawa told him.

Sendoh had gone to Hokkaido for a business trip. Until now, still no one dares to baby-sit the twins. Not even Sakuragi or Koshino, who loves them a lot, can stand being with them for an hour. Their mischievousness was known all over Kanagawa by their constant crying, whining, shouting and screaming. They just can't keep quiet.

"It's fun having them around," the captain, Soujirou, smiled.

"Captain, that's because you are used to dealing with small children," Ryu said in a louder tone so that he can hear him. The boys are getting louder by the second.

"Kenji! Eiji!" in the end, Rukawa had to shout at them, which startled the team players, and not to mention the other passengers.

There was silence… only for about three seconds.

"It's Kenji's fault!"

"You are the one who started it, idiot!" Kenji shouted back.

"Okay, keep quiet," Rukawa sat between both of them so that they don't hurt each other.

The twins not only quarreled but also physically hurt each other. The other passengers in the train are already looking at them. Eiji and Kenji are still shooting daggers at each other. From the corner of his eyes, Rukawa could see Ryu pulling something out from his bag. He sweat dropped, it's earplugs.

"If you two don't obey me, I'll just have to throw those pocky at home that you were hiding," Rukawa threatened them in a surprisingly calm voice.

The twins gasped, "You know about it?"

"Of course. Under your bed isn't the best place to hide it since I always clean your room."

The boys looked at each other, 'It's okay. We can always ask papa to buy more.'

"Don't even think of asking papa to buy more. I'm telling him how naughty you've been," Rukawa said, seeing the look on their faces.

'Oops, he read our minds.'

"Don't be so hard on them, coach. They're just kids," a first year said.

"Brother Tatsuha!" Eiji glomped on him.

"Just stay quiet, okay? Then I'll buy you pocky when we reach Hiroshima," Tatsuha smiled at Eiji. Eiji nodded obediently. He sat right beside Tatsuha and away from his twin.

Kenji continued reading his book. "Love fool," he muttered under his breath but loud enough for Eiji to hear him.

Eiji would have punched Kenji if Tatsuha wasn't holding him. Rukawa sighed and shook his head. He knew Eiji has a crush on Tatsuha and whose fault is it? Sendoh. The other team members chuckled at Tatsuha and Eiji. Finally, they reached Hiroshima much to Ryu's relief. If he hears the twins argue again, he's going to be deaf. The players carried their bags and got off the train. Before Rukawa could tell the twins to stay close to him, the twins were already long gone.

"Somebody has to nail their feet to the ground," Rukawa muttered.

After everyone is off the train, they had to wait for the bus to get them.

"Ryu, have you seen my twins?" Rukawa asked when he lost sight of them. They are really fast runners. A good sign for Point Guard, Rukawa thought.

"No, coach."

"They should be with Tatsuha. He's not here with us," Kaito, the one beside Ryu, said.

And indeed, the twins were with Tatsuha. They were asking… or more specifically pleading Tatsuha to buy them pocky at a small store. Eiji protested loudly about buying for Kenji.

"It's not fair!" he wailed.

"What's not fair? You have one and I have one," Kenji reasoned.

"It's still not fair! Brother Tatsuha promised to buy for me only!"

Rukawa came and took the pocky away from them, "You won't be eating this until you keep quiet." Then he turned at Tatsuha, "Never buy things for them. They'll take advantage of you."

"Yes, coach," Tatsuha said, a little afraid of Rukawa.

And so, the bus came and brought all of them to the hotel. Eiji and Kenji again make a ruckus in the bus.

"I want to sit near the window," Kenji said.

"But I got here first," Eiji replied.

Before another heated argument starts, Rukawa grabbed Kenji and let him sit beside him. Eiji smiled with triumph and somehow had managed to drag Tatsuha to sit with him.

"I don't want to sit here," Kenji protested.

"It's near the window," Rukawa said.

"Father, I want to sit there," Kenji pointed at Eiji's seat behind him. Eiji stuck his tongue out at him.

"Put your tongue back in or you're going to lose it," Rukawa reprimanded Eiji and turned back to Kenji. "Here is still the same."

"No."

How in the world did he end up with two sons that don't listen to him? It's so difficult to negotiate with them. How Rukawa wished Sendoh was here. At least it decreases his burden by half.

"If you sit here, I promise to buy you the scooter that you've always wanted."

"Really? Okay!" Kenji lit up. He hugged his father then sit quietly.

The players were amazed by Rukawa's way of handling kids. Tatsuha on the other hand was doing fine with Eiji since Eiji only listens to him.

Then Kenji turned behind to look at Eiji, "Father is buying me the scooter!"

'Great, he just has to say it out loud,' Rukawa slapped his own forehead.

"What? Father, I want one too!" Eiji began shouting.

Rukawa regretted making that promise. Now, the twins are arguing over the scooter. The other players only laughed in amusement as if it was some kind of variety show. Ryu already had the earplugs in his ears as soon as they board the bus. He knew the twins would start bickering at any chance. After half an hour of sound torture in the bus, they finally reached the hotel. The twins immediately raced into the building to prove who is faster.

"Eiji! Kenji!" Rukawa will be getting a sore throat if he continues shouting like this. Why can't they just stay put?

And so, they checked-in and unpacked. Half of the team wants to rest in their rooms while the other half wants to walk around. Kenji and Eiji, no doubt, are filled with energy and want to explore Hiroshima. Rukawa, even though he's tired, had no choice but to follow them. The twins are very good in causing trouble.

"I'll hold Brother Tatsuha's hand," Eiji said when Rukawa wanted to hold his hand.

Rukawa looked at Tatsuha. "It's okay, coach. I'll take care of him," Tatsuha offered.

"Thanks, Tatsuha. He only listens to you."

Rukawa hold Kenji's hand and let him lead the way. They walked around for the day since the competition only starts tomorrow. While walking, Kenji and Eiji debated over what to eat for dinner.

"Father, I want sushi!"

"I want beef pot, father!"

"No, you're not eating any of that. We're having fried rice tonight," Rukawa said, trying to shut them up.

"Father!" the two whined.

"It's either you eat or you don't eat at all," Rukawa said in an angry tone. He's getting a headache and the twins aren't helping.

The twins pouted all the way back to the hotel. Eiji and Kenji didn't say a word much to Rukawa's relief. Finally, they can keep quiet. However, the twins refused to take their bath no matter what Rukawa said… threatened actually. In the end, he let them do what they want. The boys go on strike by ignoring Rukawa. Rukawa happily ignored them too. They continued in that state until dinner. Rukawa was about to feed them when Eiji suddenly shook his head.

"What's wrong, Eiji?" he asked.

"I can eat by myself," Eiji said, picking up the chopsticks. He picked his food in a very gentle and smooth way.

Rukawa was surprised at the sudden change in Eiji. Usually, they will fight for Rukawa to feed them. Suddenly Eiji turned to his side and said happily, "Brother Tatsuha, I can feed myself!"

Rukawa sweat dropped, 'So, it's only for show off.'

Kenji still wants Rukawa to feed him because he's too busy reading to eat by himself. It seems like the silent treatment was forgotten already. After dinner, it was time to sleep. Rukawa made sure the twins brushed their teeth. Finally, after a year of constant convincing, the twins accepted that their toothbrushes are the smaller ones. Sendoh was so glad he doesn't have to buy anymore toothbrushes. The team players went into their own rooms divided into first, second and third year. Rukawa has his own room with the twins.

Eiji protested, "I want to be in the same room as Brother Tatsuha!"

"Eiji, Brother Tatsuha can't take care of you," Rukawa reasoned with him.

"Father," tears welled up in Eiji's eyes. "I don't want to sleep with Kenji," he cast a side glance at his twin.

"I don't want to sleep with you either," Kenji stuck his tongue out at him.

"No, you're sleeping with me. End of story," Rukawa carried Eiji into their room followed by Kenji.

Rukawa had to sleep in the middle to prevent the two from fighting. Kenji was at his right while Eiji's at his left. Rukawa kissed them good night then off the lights.

"I'm not sleepy, father," Eiji said.

"Just close your eyes. Good night."

"But…"

"Keep quiet, Eiji! I'm trying to sleep," Kenji scolded him.

"But I can't sleep!" and Eiji continued whining.

After one minute… soft snores were heard from his side. Rukawa check on them, the two were soundly asleep.

'They sure sleeps fast,' he sighed in relief. Finally, he can rest peacefully.

The next morning, Rukawa woke up only to find his left side empty. He turned to his right and thankfully Kenji is still sleeping soundly.

"Eiji?" he looked around the room. 'Where is he?' Rukawa started to panic. He rushed out of the room, still in his yukata, searching for the lost twin.

"Good Morning, coach," a few 2nd years passed him.

"Have any of you seen my son?" Rukawa asked them, worried written all over his face. They only shook their heads.

"Now that you mentioned it, it's so quiet this morning," Ryu stated, smiling happily.

Suddenly, they heard someone shouting.

"Eiji!" Rukawa ran towards the sound. It's coming from the first years' room. Ryu grumbled something that sounds suspiciously like "Great, my peaceful morning is ruined."

"Eiji!" Rukawa slide open the door. However, it's not Eiji who shouted. It's the person who Eiji was hugging who shouted. It's a wonder Eiji didn't wake up from the noise.

"Coach!" the 1st years were startled when they saw their coach standing at the door.

"I didn't know he was with me!" Tatsuha explained the awkward situation. Eiji had wrapped his arms around Tatsuha's waist. "I woke up and he's here!"

Rukawa sighed and untangled Eiji from Tatsuha. He sure has a tight grip.

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" Tatsuha repeatedly apologised to Rukawa.

"Father?" Eiji opened an eye. Rukawa has him in his arms now.

"You scared me, Eiji," Rukawa kissed his forehead. Eiji yawned then fell asleep again.

Rukawa looked at Tatsuha, "I guess he's really fond of you."

Tatsuha blushed while the others began to tease him.

"Alright, get ready. After breakfast, we're leaving," Rukawa said to them.

"Yes," they replied in unison.

Rukawa carried Eiji back into his room. He placed Eiji beside Kenji and watched them for a while. He decided to let them sleep while he prepared his players. The team had breakfast, and then it was time to get ready for the tournament. Rukawa woke the twins up and let them eat in the bus.

"Hey, that's mine!" Eiji shouted.

"How am I supposed to know? You didn't write your name on it."

"The prawn was on MY plate!"

"Well, too bad because now it's in MY mouth!"

"Father!" Eiji whined.

Rukawa wondered how long he could keep this up. He looked at his players. They all seemed to be immune to Kenji and Eiji's constant quarrel except for Ryu. Ryu was trying hard to tune out their voices by increasing his Discman's volume. Rukawa didn't bother to shut the twins up. He regretted declining the offer Ryu made to him earlier - "Coach, I could lend you my earplugs."

Finally, they reached the stadium. Before the boys could walk into the stadium, Rukawa made the boys stand still in front of him. The twins only stared at him.

"Okay, now promise me, you'll be good boys throughout the game," Rukawa said.

The twins exchanged glances with each other before smiling their famous 'Sendoh smile' and nodded. Rukawa hoped they listen to him. They went into the changing room to get ready.

"Alright, everyone. Do your best on the court!" Rukawa encouraged the team. "Remember. We are…" before Rukawa could finish his sentence, two young voices shouted, "Strong!"

Rukawa couldn't help but smiled at his twins.

"Brother Tatsuha, fight!" Eiji smiled at Tatsuha.

And so the game begins. Eiji and Kenji were excited. This is the first time they saw a match live. Usually, they watched videotapes where their parents played against each other. They both sat beside Rukawa at the bench.

"They're so many people here," Kenji said, looking around.

"I can't wait to play my own game too, father!" Eiji said.

"You'll get your chance," Rukawa told them. In his mind, he's already planning their practice schedule.

As promised, the twins were good boys throughout the game. They concentrated fully on the match. Once in a while, Rukawa would explain the rules and strategies. Then, there was time out.

"You were awesome, Brother Tatsuha!" Eiji exclaimed. "Your three-pointer was beautiful!"

"Eiji, I threw in a three-pointer too. Why didn't you praise me?" Soujirou asked, pretending to be hurt.

"I'm sorry, Brother Soujirou. I didn't really see you play," Eiji said, shyly.

"Yeah, he has his eyes on Brother Tatsuha only," Kenji said.

Eiji and Tatsuha blushed. The whole team laughed at them. Then, the game resumed. After a tiring 20 minutes, they won the game. Rukawa was very proud of them. They waste no time in returning to the hotel because the players were exhausted.

"Brother Tatsuha, I'll scrub your back for you!" Eiji immediately offered when they wanted to bath.

"Uh… you don't have too, Eiji. I'll do it myself," Tatsuha politely refuse. The other team members tried to hold their laughter.

Eiji was disappointed.

"Come, Eiji. You can scrub my back," Rukawa said to him.

"Okay!" Eiji smiled.

"I'll help!" Kenji smiled too.

At night after dinner, the twins were fighting over the television.

"I want to watch TV!"

"No, it's my turn!'

"Both of you are not watching anything! We're going to study our opponents!" once again, Rukawa tried to shut them up.

The twins retaliated. Rukawa threatened not to buy them the scooter until they gave up and finally retreated to one corner to sulk.

"Are you sure they're fine, coach?" Soujirou asked, feeling the sorrowful atmosphere around the twins.

"Leave them. They'll forget about it soon. Okay, let's start."

So, the team watched their next opponent's previous matches. They studied their moves and planned tomorrow's strategy.

At Hokkaido, Sendoh had just finished his meeting with his superiors.

"Thank you so much, Sendoh. You really did help a lot."

"I'm just doing my job," Sendoh smiled. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up," Sendoh said to his partners. Then, he looked at the caller ID. He smiled, it was Kaede.

"Hi, Kaede."

"PAPA!" Sendoh had to pull the phone away from his ear.

"Kenji?"

"Papa! Where are you?" he could hear Kenji crying.

"Kenji, I'm in Hokkaido. What's wrong?" Sendoh asked, worried.

"I don't want to stay here, papa! I want to be with you! Can you come and get me?" Kenji asked.

"Kenji, calm down. Tell me what happened?"

"Eiji is so mean to me! He…" and so starts Kenji's long grandmother story. Sendoh only listened patiently. "Then he wouldn't let me eat pocky! Can you buy some for me when you come back?"

Sendoh glanced at his watch. The boy had been talking for ten minutes nonstop. 'Why aren't they as quiet as Kaede?' Sendoh wondered.

"Papa, are you listening to me?" Kenji suddenly asked when Sendoh didn't response.

"Yes, go on."

"The game was great! I want to play basketball too!"

Sendoh smiled when he heard that.

"And then, father didn't let me watch the TV. I'm going to miss the last episode of Ultraman!" Kenji's tone became louder until Sendoh had to distance his ear from the phone.

And Kenji just keeps on talking. Sendoh wondered how Rukawa would react when he receives the phone bill this month.

"Kenji, I really have to go now," Sendoh said, cutting Kenji's narration about how Ultraman saved the world.

"But papa, I'm not done yet!"

"You can tell me when I get home."

"Papa, come and get me now. I can't stay any longer with Eiji!" Kenji whined.

"No, Kenji. You have to be patient."

Kenji sniffed, "I miss you, papa."

"Yes, I miss you too. I'll be home soon, okay?"

Kenji nodded.

"Kenji?" Sendoh called when the other was silent.

"I nodded my head."

"Well, I can't see head movement from here," Sendoh chuckled. "It's late right now. Why don't you go to bed?"

"Okay. Bye, papa. I love you."

"Bye, I love you too."

And Kenji hung up the phone. Sendoh sighed in relief. Now, he can't wait to go home. After a few seconds, his cell phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Akira, did Kenji call you just now?" Kaede's voice rang through the phone.

"Yeah, he did. He's upset."

"I know. If I knew they caused this much trouble, I wouldn't have brought them here," Rukawa sighed.

Sendoh chuckled, "Just be patient, Kaede."

"By the way, we won today. 75-80."

"I know. Kenji told me just now."

"I'm so tired. Not only from the team but from the twins too. You won't believe what they did," Rukawa smiled. He loved his twins very much but sometimes he just can't stand them.

"Is that papa on the phone? I wanna talk to papa!" Eiji's cheerful voice was heard in the background.

Rukawa passed the phone to Eiji.

"Papa, I miss you so much!"

"Eiji, I miss you too."

"Do you know what Kenji did to me? He…"

'Oh no, not another grandmother story,' Sendoh sweatdropped.

"Eiji, that's enough. Go brush your teeth with Kenji," Rukawa said.

Sendoh could imagine Kenji pouting. He smiled. Then, Rukawa was back on the phone, "Those two are really hard to handle."

"Kaede, I really have to go now. Kenji kept me for too long just now," Sendoh said, after realizing what time it was.

"Alright, see you soon."

"Bye, I love you," and Sendoh hung up. He smiled when he remembered his family. "Okay, finish my work fast then I can meet them early."

After two long weeks, Rukawa and his twins are finally back in their beloved home!

"Home sweet home!" the twins shouted as soon as they entered the house.

"Welcome back!" Sendoh smiled at them.

"Papa!"

"Akira, you're back. I thought your flight is tomorrow," Rukawa was surprised.

Sendoh smiled. "I couldn't wait to see you guys," he kissed Rukawa.

"I want a kiss too!" the twins shouted and hugged his leg.

"Alright, alright," Sendoh bend down and kissed their foreheads. "I've got a surprise for both of you."

The twins looked at him happily. They just loved surprises.

"Here you go. The entire series of Ultraman and your favourite strawberry-flavoured pocky."

"Yay! Yay!" the twins cheered when they received their gifts and kissed their dad on the cheek.

"Papa, we got so many things to tell you. You know, the bullet train…" the twins started narrating the whole trip.

Sendoh chuckled when he heard Rukawa whispered, "I'm never bringing them to IH again."

-End-